Skunks, Part 2

Last night it happened again. At 2:45am we were awakened with watering eyes and slight nausea. The smell was even worse than Monday night.

It is hard to think clearly at that hour. I decided it wasn't skunk at all, but rather a gas leak. (We have propane which they purposely scent to smell like skunk.) Next step: open all the doors and windows because it doesn't stink outside, only inside. Next step after that--do your research. So Gary and I both got on Google and started learning all we could about both skunks and propane. At 3am, one's mind is open to a lot of possibilities!

Somewhere along the line it occurred to me that if the house explodes, I'm really going to wish I had taken the time to get dressed before doing my research. So just to be safe, I went outside--hoping there actually wasn't a skunk in my way--and turned off the gas tank.

Then we started having a full debate, detailing the logical facts to support the skunk theory vs. the propane theory. We were also worried about critters other than skunks coming in all the open windows, since they don't have screens. And I was really worried about Rachel, hoping she was just sleeping through it all but afraid we were going asphyxiate her.

Eventually we decided there was nothing to do but to try to go back to sleep. The bedroom was WAY too stinky, so we each slept on one of the living room couches. The smell at that end of the house didn't seem so bad.

We did manage to go to work this morning, in spite of my general grumpy attitude. At lunch time I phoned the plumber who recently installed our new water heater, and asked his advice about whether or not he thought it could be propane. He voted for the skunk theory.

Then I made Gary stay home from the office and get busy with a plan to evict the skunks. He hauled rocks and plugged the two recently created holes under the foundation skirt.

I just hope he locked them OUT and not IN!

I really hope that is THE END.

Footnote:
HOW TO RECOGNIZE THE SMELL OF PROPANE

Propane has a strong, unpleasant smell like rotten eggs, a skunk’s spray, or a dead animal. Propane manufacturers add the smell deliberately to help alert customers to propane leaks, which can create a safety hazard.